Woman apalled by Houston's 'corridor of cruelty' is dogs' best friend

She crusades against 'corridor of cruelty'Houston woman puts an end to dogs' suffering

ERICKA MELLON, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 6:30 am, Monday, December 27, 2010

Photo: Billy Smith II, Chronicle

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Wiley, a 4-year-old bulldog-pit bull mix, was one of Deborah Hoffman's "special cases" — she could count every rib when she found him. Now, he is healthy and needs a home.

Wiley, a 4-year-old bulldog-pit bull mix, was one of Deborah Hoffman's "special cases" — she could count every rib when she found him. Now, he is healthy and needs a home.

Photo: Billy Smith II, Chronicle

Woman apalled by Houston's 'corridor of cruelty' is dogs' best friend

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This is the third in our series of "Making a Difference" profiles.

Drive by the grassy ditches near U.S. 59 and Little York enough, and you'll see Deborah Hoffman and her volunteers rescuing a heart-breaking pack of starving, balding, limping dogs, whose owners left them to die.

Hoffman dubs the area in northeast Houston "the corridor of cruelty." Dozens of abandoned dogs, their ribs revealed, scrounge for food. They come from families who didn't want them or perhaps couldn't afford them. Whatever the reason, Hoffman's nonprofit, Corridor Rescue, works to save them.

Hoffman, an administrative assistant by day, formed the rescue group in August 2008 after passing by a sickly dog one too many times.

"I can't keep driving out here and seeing this misery," she told herself. "It hurt more not to do anything than to do something."

The 52-year-old mother from northwest Houston started with an e-mail to family, friends and other animal lovers.

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"If I did not send out this e-mail, I just couldn't live with myself," Hoffman wrote.

She attached a map of the corridor, explaining that hungry dogs wander the wooded areas and cross busy intersections. She pleaded with people to adopt them.

"They don't want to live like this," Hoffman said. "They are scared and lonely. They want to be saved and have a home."

Corridor Rescue has grown to about 120 volunteers. They work to capture the stray dogs, nurse them to health in foster homes and find them permanent ones. They also drop off food daily for those they can't save. Funding comes from donations.

Since 2008, Hoffman says, the group has rescued about 260 dogs from the corridor and dozens from other parts of town with the help of other volunteer groups. They can care for about 100 dogs at a time.

"It's been miracle after miracle with some of these dogs that were just devastated physically ending up loved in wonderful homes," she says.

Officials with the Harris County District Attorney's Office and the Houston Police Department have praised Hoffman's efforts to rescue the animals and bring public attention to the organized dog fighting in the area. At times, Hoffman has found trash bags stuffed with carcasses.

HPD Sgt. Virginia Brasher, who works on animal cruelty cases, says the city doesn't have space to take in all the dogs. She applauded Hoffman and the volunteers for getting the animals healthy enough for adoption.

"They've made a huge impact out there," Brasher says. "They've given so many dogs a chance for a second life."

This month, Hoffman is speaking for Wiley, a bulldog-pit bull mix who needs a permanent family.

"I found him on Wiley Street in the corridor two years ago," she says. "When I drove up and saw him, I thought he was dead. I could count every rib from the car."

The mild-mannered dog, who overcame hypertension, heart worm and other ailments, now weighs a healthy 78 pounds.

"I take special cases," says Hoffman, who plans to launch a pet-education program in the corridor neighborhoods next year. "I just want people to realize it's not just our world. It's their world, too. We need to respect the animals."